Wednesday 25 July 2018

About sharing the Bernas cake

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By Lebai Sudin

Aku terbaca berita dalam utusan online dua hari lalu, Menteri Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani, Salahuddin Ayub mahu kek ekonomi yang ada pada BERNAS dikongsi bersama.

Ayat macam ini, aku rasa pasti jadi popular. Ini ayat orang politik yang sedap didengar. Ramai orang suka dengar ayat macam itu dan orang yang buat kenyataan seperti ini biasanya disanjung dan dipuji.

Salahuddin cakap begitu kepada wartawan selepas 3 jam mendengar taklimat FAMA. Tiga jam dengar taklimat FAMA, tapi buat kenyataan pasal Bernas. Barangkali soal nak tamatkan monopoli BERNAS (satu lagi ayat popular) akan buatkan pemimpin dilihat hebat.

Dia kata lagi, kerajaan tak kan kompromi dalam isu keselamatan makanan. Nah..beras soal isu keselamatan makanan. BERNAS yang memikul tugas dan tanggjungjawab nasional menjaga keselamatan makanan.

Apa dia yang BERNAS jaga? Aku search selama ini dan faham adalah begini…

Selain sebagai pengedar beras, BERNAS kena stok beras negara, pembeli terakhir padi petani (BERNAS wajib beli padi petani yang pihak swasta lain tak nak beli), menguruskan skim pengilang bumiputera dan agih harga padi subsidi kepada petani bagi pihak kerajaan.

Bagi membolehkan BERNAS melaksanakan tugas negara, yang diwarisinya daripada LPN, kerajaan beri hak mengimport beras kepada BERNAS. Sama macam ketika LPN dulu, iaitu sejak 1974. BERNAS terbit apabila LPN diswastakan pada 1996.

Bukan pengimport tunggal pun, yang macam ramai orang faham, cuma kerajaan tak beri kepada orang lain. Sebab isu keselamatan makananlah.. kalau beri sesuka hati, macam mana kerajaan nak lindungi bekalan beras ini.

Yang sibuk sangat pasal monopoli BERNAS, sebenarnya hanyalah AP import tu. Ramai kot yang nak AP tu.. itulah juga yang Menteri sibuik nak orang kongsi kek.. abis…kek yang tanggungjawab nasional tu, tak nak kongsi ke?

Boleh ke keselamatan makanan utama (beras) ini dijaga dan dilindungi apabila kerja import beras diberi secara terbuka atas ayat popular kongsi kek ekonomi. Macam mana kerajaan nak control pasaran ini?

Bila kerajaan terus beri hanya kepada BERNAS import beras, ia adalah mekanisme utama nak jaga pasaran beras tempatan disebablan cabaran volatiliti harga beras antarabangsa. BERNAS jadi “gatekeeping” melindungi industri padi dan beras tempatan.

Kita kena memastikan harga beras stabil dan berpatutan. Kena pastikan bekalan beras cukup di seluruh negara. Standard dan kualitinya terjamin.

Salahuddin tak bimbang ke beras tempatan hilang pasaran pada waktu harga beras antarabangsa rendah?

Dasar macam ini, kalau tak salah aku… Indonesia, Vitenam, Pakistan dan China pun buat benda yang sama. Nak jaga keselamatan makanan negara, kena fokus dan kontrol bukannya nak faraid ramai-ramai.

Sebenarnya, BERNAS hanya import 30 peratus daripada keperluan beras negara. Bukan sewenang-wenangnya bawa masuk. BERNAS kena patuh kepada soal ini. Lagi pun, aku dapat tahu yang kerajaan letak wakil dalam lembaga BERNAS Wakil tu pula, maksud kerajaan lah.. ada kuasa veto dalam lembaga tu. Maknanya, kerajaan boleh tolak/halang atau batalkan sahaja apa-apa yang BERNAS buat tak betul.

Dan lagi satu, tak wujud isu monopoli oleh BERNAS dalam industri beras kerana ada lebih 200 kilang beras di mana cuma 30 daripadanya milik BERNAS. Ada lebih 3,400 pemborong dan hanya 13 adalah anak syarikat BERNAS. Ada lebih 42,000 peruncit dan BERNAS langsung tak terlibat.

Yang BERNAS bersendirian, ialah import beras bagi pihak kerajaan untuk menjaga kepentingan pasaran tempatan dan bekalan beras negara.

Aku harap jawatan kuasa teknikal diketuai Menteri Hal Ehwal Ekonomi, Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, teliti betul-betul hal ini. Katanya, akan ada model baru bagi menggantikan fungsi BERNAS. Harap-harap ia berkesan untuk menjaga keselamatan makanan utama negara kita, bukan setakat nak liberalkan import beras untuk kongsi kek.

Dan jangan lupa YB Salahuddin, ada lebih 145,000 orang pesawah padi, yang sebenarnya patut diberikan tumpuan. Masalah peringkat pengeluaran inilah yang lebih kritikal.


Sefaham aku, kita tak ada masalah dari segi selepas tuai, sama ada peringkat mengilang, mengedar dan runcit, termasuklah juga import. Tetapi peringkat pengeluaran, yang mana pesawah kita tak sehebat Thailand dan Vietnam…pesawah kita jauh ketinggalan dari segi hasil dan inovatif. Ini yang selalu dibangkitkan oleh penyelidik.

Ini kerana hasil pesawahlah yang memastikan beras tempatan berkualiti. Soal tanah, benih, baja, pengairan dan saliran, penjagaan, sistem tuai dan sebagainya. Mereka ini lebih memerlukan sentuhan kerajaan dan pembelaan, bukannya pihak yang sibuk timbulkan soal import beras.

Import beras telah dimomokkan seolah-olahnya ia masalah besar kepada negara, seolah-olahnya ialah perosak industri beras, penghalang kepada pengawalan keselamatan makanan utama negara.

Apakah, industri beras negara jadi hebat, teratur dan berkesan apabila kerja import beras untuk 30 peratus bekalan ini, dibuka kepada banyak pihak atas nama nak kongsi kek?

Tepuk dada, tanya hati dan akal masing-masing.

28 comments:

  1. Boringlah cerita beras padi ini Lebai Sudin.Lain kali bolehkah tulis pasal kelapa sawit pula,okay.

    ReplyDelete
  2. C: Food security is a national concern in every country.

    D: True, in our case, our rice security issues have been around for more than twenty years so what Bernas is trying to say is not new.

    In fact, you will recall how M 1.0 had already written in his book way back how lamentable it was that the Malay farmer could not produce as much as his neighbour in the adjacent patch. Perhaps he was just being political about it.

    C: But things would have improved since then. Machinery, subsidies and so on.

    D: It could be a galaxy of factors. Better employment in other enterprises, poor weather for rice, difficulty to maintain machinery, uneconomic size for smallholders, stronger yield and taste-quality of imports.

    C: Yes, rather than articulate the issues, those involved should show what they have been doing for the last twenty years to overcome the technical, marketing and distribution challenges.

    D: Let me try and sneeze out some findings:

    Ahhhh--chhoooooh!

    https://tinyurl.com/y9uthwdh

    https://tinyurl.com/ycvrl9wf

    https://tinyurl.com/ybwvchsg

    https://tinyurl.com/yaokvqbp

    https://tinyurl.com/ybgeqh7o

    https://tinyurl.com/y7j2244d

    https://tinyurl.com/y73yaj29

    https://tinyurl.com/ybo6bxfg

    https://tinyurl.com/ydcmarbk

    C: Oh bless you!

    D: Thanks. For a while i thought you said blast me for making you read.

    C: Have you? Why don't you give me a summary?

    D: One of the models in one of the papers needs to be tweaked. Summary? How can we deny Messrs Professori's Nasi Lemak and Kangkung the privilege of doing so? You can ask them. I am sure they will be more than happy and ever eager to oblige, perhaps show their prowess.

    C: I sense you want to say something else.

    D: I have been quiet about it but since this is the second time Annie has broached the same topic, maybe she is just waiting for B to make the first move, like go catch MI together. And no, that's not what i want to say and you better not tell B i suggested that.

    C: My lips are sealed. And they are not pink. I hope B gets the hint anyway because Annie takes one's breath away.

    D: Not literally like the Mummy, i hope. Ok this is what i want to say:

    Somehow its name already escapes me but the previous gomen had been giving out subsidized fertilizers for umpteen years. In the case of oil palms, there was a time it had given free fertilizers. Now this was laudable except for one problem whispered in some quarters.

    C: And that was?

    D: The weight. Each bag of compound fertilizer would fill 50 kilos, a number marked on the bag. But i have heard the actual quantity supplied was 40 kilos. So by the short-change, some people would have made twenty percent on price above whatever profit they had made. That's rakyat money.

    Moreover, and this pains me, the poor farmer being illiterate and all, would be ever thankful and proceed to fertilize his field. Say each tree gets three 1.5 kilo mangkuks of compound fertilizer four times a year, and we are talking about thousands of smallholders, so you can imagine how much was fleeced for as long as the full subsidies were given if the rumor was true.

    My question is this: if for oil palm, also for rice? Has Bernas checked up on the actual weights of subsidized products delivered into the hands of the poor farmers?

    And don't try to wriggle by saying the bag says 40 kilos. Because that's for growth-inducing muriate of potash, not compound.

    C: I bow before the master.

    D: Do you think Annie will like me more than B?

    C: B local hard rice, you fragrant thai rice, meh?







    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anon 17:31

      Fertilizers yg dok hantaq berlori2 kLadang2 dn bendang tu suppliers sllnya coy2 Apek.. go check and confirm.

      Kan 96% Apeks voted for PH?? Haiyaaa.. takes 2 to make lasuah happen. You nih, buat2 tak faham pulak??.lasuah lasuah lasuah..

      Professor Nasi Lemak

      Delete
    2. Anonymous25 July 2018 at 17:46

      Excellent post bro.

      There's not much that useless Umgnok cyber parasites like Professor Nasty Berak can do to counter your arguments.

      Pity Umgnok, really - no wonder lah dapat 36% of the votes in PRU14 : ) their cyber "warriors" all mmg lembik....like bibirpink Bugis suing WSJ "next Tuesday" - ha ha ha!



      Delete
  3. 2/2

    D: What our sleepy-head authorities can do is perhaps this: it's worthwhile to try out a sampling. Walk into a smallholder plot, and look at the trees. If there has been a short-change, then the trees furthest away from the farmer's shed would look less healthy than the ones nearer.

    C: How come?

    D: The farmer calculates how many trees he has and therefore how many bags of 50 kilo fertilizers he needs. But if he is supplied bags of only 40 kilos, he will not have any reason to doubt since they are foc. Happily, he uses the mangkuk to scoop from the wheelbarrow poured bag after bag with the fertilizer and starts his early round of fertilizing the trees from his shed outwards until he reaches the boundary of his plot. From the shed since that's where he keeps the bags. But if he is shortchanged, he will run out of fertilizers long before then. Of course, after many years of this happening, he will use less and less for each tree just to make sure enough for as many trees as he can. But it will always be the last trees furthest away which will be under-nourished. Paham-kah?

    C: I bow before the master again.

    D: You want B to poison me with borate kah?

    C: Is there anything else you care to share?

    D: Sg Kandis. This Lokman is asking the Malay voters to vote for him by saying the Chinese voters need Umno in order to ensure peace and security. Let me guess what he is saying... is he saying the Malay voters are naturally racist and amok-philic?

    Yeah, that's all i wanna say about Sg. Kandis.

    C: Ohh. Anything else?

    D: Another day we can talk about how to reinvent BN and strengthen PH.

    C: What about PAS?

    D: One shoe white, the other shoe black..

    C: And Tabung Haji?

    D: The most meaningful haj is the longest road of them all. The road to awareness of the Almighty that resides in the heart. The journey to one's own heart is therefore the most important and the longest journey anyone makes in the life we are given as a gift to do the right things.

    If we can't even do that right, how would physically going faraway make any difference?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anon 17:46, I always look up for your comments. You've got that some extent style of attachment. Full of substance, wisdom and satire kinda thing. Indeed, you are a wise man. No doubt.

      Delete
  4. Tu la Gladiator..

    Minister you ni graduan bdg business /human resources not in agriculture .. tu pasai dia BLUR.

    Malu dekat puteri dRaja Thailand la kalau dia mcamni.

    BTW kelapa sawit n getah bawah ministry dia? Ha aa kan yg ni dia patut kalut dulu..

    Professor Nasi Lemak

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lebai Sudin, tkasih atas pencerahan. Ini mesti kes dengki ni. Teruskan la menulis isu2 yg x mainstream ni.

    Mengenai soal kualiti & innovation, x lama dulu saya ada terbaca dlm akhbar pesawah bimbang tentang cadangan menggunakan drone utk sembur racun. Hakikatnya sistem & sikap pesawah juga harus berubah. Ramai pesawah hanya menyewa & tuan tanah x ambik peduli asalkan duit masuk. Tidak ada inisiatif kuat utk berubah.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Boring topic Annie...yawn

    ReplyDelete
  7. another RM90 million from dumbos will buy PAS votes for BN in Sg Kandis wakakaka

    ReplyDelete
  8. Why must BERNAS alone can do the job. If other agency like BERNAS or Koperasi can do what BERNAS did, it will be better than individual holding the cake. We dont want individual to take advantage of the company like previous privitization i.e MAS under Tajudin, Renong under Halim Saad,Landmark Under Samsudin - All bungkus

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous @ 26 July 2018 at 09:07,

    //Boring topic Annie...yawn//

    I agree that it may be boring to some people, but then how else will an imporverished poorly educated padi farmer get his voice heard?

    Shall we just quietly sweep this problem under the carpet in our new Malaysia just like BN did?

    Hang on, I know, we will let someone else handle the problem becos we are bored with the stupid boring discussion here?

    Who will that someone else be? We don't care?

    If Lebai Sudin had not taken his own time to speak out, how many of us would have known about this?

    Hmmm... maybe you are an UMNO/BN supporter who does want padi farmers to continue to suffer.

    Gladiator

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lebai labi labi

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think i have read 3 articles on bernas by lebai sudin since i followed this blog for the last 3 years.

    Well done to lebai on laboring and putting up effort to share on the topic.

    But really lebai, if you continue to argue that Bernas need to remain and conduct whatever govt function such as jpn or moa at a bigger scale and due to that they need the ap, then the more reason moa to take up the responsibilty on their own n let bernas to be a corporate proper.

    Similar also is your argument that bernas need to continue as it is due to their long ‘jasa’ really need a big reality check.

    Just because a foundation or base has been built, doesnt mean the foundation remain correct n strong through the test of time. It just doesnt add up.

    Its time for the government n moa especially to own up.

    ..nowwhat..



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anon 12:01, I think Bernas took up the function as part of the privatisation drive in the 90s. There must be a discussion on the wider policies if we now want to de-privatise what we deemed as critical services. Cannot la suka2 ubah just because it's the popular thing to do.

      Delete
    2. Privatisation is such a big word really. But then again it doesnt mean that if bernas was part of the privatisation programme then it means its alright for today.

      It is just like saying, if a person goes to school then he is educated or if one is born islam the person is a good muslim.

      Lets talk content and not label.

      Agreed that we need to discuss wider policies including deprivatisation. What is critical yesteryear are not necessary critical today.

      Even the planning at national level for the nation and its corresponding strategies at ministries n budget has changes drastically from the 2010 onwards since the 90s approach was found to lack clarity and impact to be continued in RMK 10 onwards.


      Delete
  12. Labu labi lebai

    ReplyDelete
  13. Those institution or agency tht r task to take our agroculture to the next height of industrialized scale but failed in their job or sleeping on the job ? Quote from a song "everything you touch surely dies"? I was wandering why there was so many cases of illegal non farmers in Cameron Highland. Shudn't we nid other to step up the increase of productions when there was a shortfall from the bumi sides. Take a lesson from Zimbabwe when Mugabe impounded those lands from the white farmer n give to his cronies tht dunno two hoots abt farming, the major exports fall n so does their currencies. U really dun nid to giv the nons the land just rent it out to them.

    Patriot_7

    ReplyDelete
  14. mcm PKR, dumbo shud create the position of KETUM for najib wakakaka

    ReplyDelete
  15. dumbo & najib are implying government can only be formed with support & endorsement from USA & CIA so msia is becoming a puppet state??? sigh

    ReplyDelete
  16. Prof NL,

    //Minister you ni graduan bdg business /human resources not in agriculture .. tu pasai dia BLUR.//

    I dont think the minister's background is a huge factor here.

    I am more interested in the results that he will bring in, say, 3 years time.

    I think it will take that long to just address even a small portion of the fuckups of the last 60 years.

    //Malu dekat puteri dRaja Thailand la kalau dia mcamni.//

    No idea what you are talking about here.

    //BTW kelapa sawit n getah bawah ministry dia?//

    Hahahahah!!

    I knew I could count on you ft. or a laugh somewhere.

    Where do you suggest kelapa sawit and getah be placed under? Ministry of Transport or Ministry of Defence?

    Hahahahah!!!

    Gladiator

    ReplyDelete
  17. with NO support from hindraf indians, DAP chinese & PAS muslims, BN dumbos will lose sg kandis...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anon 10:12

      Ha aaa of 'cos Hindraf sure will win wan .. kan Minister you claims Malaysia belongs to Indians and Melayus are the actual pendatangs.. kekeke

      Like China belongs to Africans..

      Gladiator

      Moo kena buka mata dn telinga luas2 sikit.. then u'll realise what half past six Ministers you have. BLUR.

      Elok moo tak payah bebel kat sini. Byk position kosong kat Khazanah tu.. cepat apply. You are very2 needed by them

      Professor Nasi Lemak

      Delete
    2. Bodoh gila Nazi Lemak ni. Bila mau masuk tanjung rambutan?

      Delete
  18. mcm PH, imran khan won GE fighting against poverty & corruption (unlike bloody dumbo bangsa & agama) wink

    ReplyDelete
  19. Yes, output has not been improving and therefore incomes remain stagnant. How to improve output.

    Hopefully govt will look at the current model, free fertiliser etc and see if this is the best option.

    Problem could also be small plotholders compared to the very efficient agribusiness and large plots in other countries.

    Income generation among padi farmers really needs to increase, how can that be achieved?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Prof NL,

    //Moo kena buka mata dn telinga luas2 sikit.. then u'll realise what half past six Ministers you have. BLUR.//

    HAHAHAHAHA!!

    Yah lah, ok, so Pakatan ministers are blur.

    How to compare with high quality highly educated UMNO ministers, right?

    HAHAHAHAH!!!

    //Elok moo tak payah bebel kat sini.//

    But I like it here becos you are here to entertain me :)

    I enjoy reading what you write - I really do, no lie :)

    //Byk position kosong kat Khazanah tu.. cepat apply. You are very2 needed by them//

    Hahahahah, typical of your UMNO mentality :)

    You hardly know me, we have exchanged friendly banter for a while and now you want to give me a job at Khazanah!!!

    OK lah, I know you are after kickbacks and special favours from me once I am in Khazanah, right??

    Hehehehe, sorry to disappoint you but unlike UMNO ppl, I know when to say "No" to something becos I am not qualified for the role.

    Why dont you try giving the job to some of those highly qualified highly educated UMNO ex-politicians?

    We know they are dedperate for work :)

    HAHAHAHAH!!

    Gladiator



    ReplyDelete
  21. many privatiation is to enrich the pencuri, this happened during mahathir reign. the new govt must reform tis irregardless who is the pm. bernas mgt n owner r a bunch of thief, i still dun understand what jasa tis writer is talking abt if after 30 years we still import so much rice while farmer remain poor.

    ReplyDelete